Why do I choose black or dark soil for the aquarium?
When I was a teenager, I didn’t have any questions what the ground in an aquarium should be. That was 30 years ago. At that time there were no special shops where you could buy any kind of soil. There was not even information that in nature there are crystal white, or completely black soils in the aquarium. Then with the choice everything was simple. We walked to the nearest river and gathered sand into the bucket. He was thoroughly washed at home. Then boiled or progulivali in the oven. And everything, the issue with the soil for the aquarium resolved.
Now buy soil of any color and size, it has become much easier. But it became harder to choose. On the Internet you can find dozens of different types of soils, from completely artificial, dyed to genuine natural.
I must say right away that with regard to the design of the aquarium, I am a fan of everything dark. Dark background, dark ground, dark driftwood. I came to love the dark on my own experience. First, fish and plants look much more spectacular against a black background. Secondly, dirt and algae are not noticeable on dark soil. Try using dazzling white sand or rock in your aquarium. It will be like this only for the first month. Then it will turn green or gray. And against the background of ordinary motley river sand, they are poorly visible fishes... My color is black.
How did I choose the black soil?
Black soil for the aquarium of the French company ZOLUX.
The company Zolux ( www.zolux.com ) is a family company founded in 1933 in France. And which today has subsidiaries in France, Italy and Poland. And also representative offices in more than 50 countries. And their products can be bought in almost any zoo store in the world. That is, the producer is quite serious and can be trusted.
My choice fell on the sand of the series Aqua Sand Nature. Where the name implies that it should be natural. A close and detailed examination looks like small pieces of dark glass. In fact, the glass is made of sand, so it may well be. And in nature, black sand beaches are not so rare. Mostly in places of volcanic origin. For example, in Iceland or Canary islands.
In this case, sand “Zolux"Does not scratch the skin of the hands when washing it. And the Cory Catfishes do not peel their mustache. And with confidence 100% it can be considered completely safe for all inhabitants of the aquarium.
Important❗ How to prepare the ground Zolux for aquarium.
There is one caveat in the preparation of this soil for the aquarium. The fact is that in the production process, it is crushed into smaller pieces. And the pieces of metal used in production sometimes fall into sandbags. In itself, the iron in small quantities is absolutely harmless to the aquarium. And over time, dissolve itself. Iron is present in many fertilizers for plants. It is true there it is a little bit in a different form. And if it bothers you, then we do it the way I did.
With the help of adhesive tape, we wind the magnet to a long handle. And just drive it inside the sand. Then we look and remove the pieces of metal.
I had one bag clean. And in the second there were quite a few pieces. After this procedure, we wash it with warm water and can use it.
Soil “Zolux" Conclusion
Chinese soil " Still Colors".
“NATURAL COLOR”. Overview.
On the packaging itself there is no Internet address of the manufacturer. There is only a name. And on him I got the address and found out. Here he is-www.xfaquarium.com . But on the site itself there is no detailed information. But on the package it was possible to find out the following information In Russian and in English:
From where we can understand that in a package natural gravel is poured.
Gravel is a loose sedimentary rock. The location is mountainous, lake or river, sea and glacial. And in size it is divided into small (1-2 mm), medium (2-5 mm), and large (5-10 mm).And judging by my photo above, we are dealing with either sea or river gravel. First, the photo shows that it contains pieces of shells. And secondly, judging by the absence of sharp edges, it becomes clear that he had been in contact with moving water for a long time. Be it a sea surf or a river current.
How to check whether the dyed gravel or natural? Like on my photo below, break it with a hammer. A natural stone will be the same color both inside and outside. And dyed, just outside.
Primer Chinese "NATURAL COLOR". The conclusion.
Based on my tests it follows that this gravel is completely natural and absolutely safe for use in aquariums. The only drawback with him is that it is quite dusty and needs to be washed for a long time before laying in the aquarium. But if you consider that the price of it is less than 10 € for 10 kilogram! That can be said with confidence that this is a very good and easy solution for your aquarium!
Related articles:
Fresh Posts:
-
Cichlids (Cichlidae): How to Equip Aquarium in 2020?
2020-03-18
-
Algae in the aquarium? How to win? Personal experience (+ Photos)!
2019-09-15
-
CO2 Reactor and Diffuser in the Aquarium. How to choose?
2019-08-10
-
CO2 Aquarium Generator: Launch! With Photos and Videos!
2019-07-11
-
Cancer Dwarfish Mexican Orange (Cambarellus patzcuarensis): Overview!
2019-04-26
Thank you informative and interesting.
Thank you for your feedback! I try
NATURAL Color, and how to buy it? Thanks for the review.
I bought on the Internet. Thanks for the feedback!